A LONG campaign to transform the old scrapyard on the Suffolk Road from a former bonfire site to social housing is starting to come to fruition.

Since 2010 Lenadoon Community Forum and local residents from Suffolk Road have campaigned and lobbied for the old scrapyard site to be redeveloped. Situated between Riverside Mews and Larkspur Rise the site for years had been an eyesore for local residents and was used as one of the last bonfire sites in West Belfast, becoming a hub for anti-social behaviour.

The site was bought during the property boom before the 2008 financial crisis and has subsequently changed hands numerous times since. The site is now being developed by Habinteg Housing Association who are building ten two-bedroom apartments and five three-bedroom apartments.

Paddy O'Donnell from Lenadoon Community Forum said residents had long campaigned for the site to be put to good use and said it would both remove an anti-social behaviour hotspot and provide much-needed housing in the area.

"In 2010 Lenadoon Community Forum facilitated a public meeting in the Suffolk Inn which was attended by the NIHE, local residents and local elected representatives along with the owners of the scrapyard site at the time," said Paddy. "The key priority was to new build social housing which would be used to alleviate the massive housing waiting list that existed in the area.

"Lenadoon Community Forum gave a commitment to keep local residents informed of any developments. Over the next 12 years a number of developers expressed an interest but unfortunately nothing came of it. The site continued to attract young people to engage in anti-social behaviour such as drug taking and underage drinking along with an annual bonfire which blighted the area and its surrounds and made life intolerable for those people living next to it."

Paddy explained the development work began in June last year and has an aim to be completed around February 2024.

"The development started in June 2022 and the predicted completion date is around February 2024. Local residents living beside the site have welcomed the new development and are hoping that this will bring an end to the anti-community behaviour they have endured over the years. Lenadoon Community Forum will be available to facilitate any community consultations in the run-up to the hand-over of these homes."